Marcus Ball tends to cut to the chase when dissecting all things Argonauts, someone who doesn't mince his words very often in assessing his team's play on defence.

When a team locks up first in its division and finds itself in that enviable position of evaluating who can use a night off in a game that is virtually meaningless, the big picture becomes more into focus.

Ricky Ray won't play in next Friday's season finale against visiting Montreal, one of many on offence who will rest and not be seen on the playing field until the Nov. 17 East final rolls around.

The way Ray played Thursday night against Winnipeg in leading the Argos to their win, a victory that assured the team of first, there's no reason to worry about points being produced.

The way Swayze Waters is kicking the football, the Argos are in field goal range each time they cross midfield, three points pretty much a sure thing.

On defence, though, questions abound, issues continue to linger, areas of deficiencies that need to be addressed and corrected.

Jordan Younger is on the suspended list, his decision to step away from the game unknown to the team until players received their Grey Cup rings at a ceremony held at Ontario Place on the eve of training camp.

The Argos are not afraid of exploring anything, which is why the veteran free safety should be approached, the sooner the better.

He's not the answer to all that ails the Argos defence, but he can certainly a voice on a unit that lacks continuity and communication.

Ball, Robert McCune and Pat Watkins are the leaders, but others have to step up.

Younger knows the system, has a football IQ that's as good as any the CFL has ever seen and is believed to be in good shape.

Players come and go in the CFL like the ball gets heaved on any given down, but players of Younger's ilk are hard to replace.

The Argos have been playing this dangerous game on defence believing any player can be replaced, any player inserted into any hole, no matter how much experience he possesses.

As of today, this defence is not good enough to win a Grey Cup and it may not be sufficient enough to even advance to Regina.

The team talks about discipline and being assignment sound, taking care of one's responsibilities and believing in the person next to you.

When the Argos made their run late last season, there were signs of improvement, a defence becoming more stout against the run, timely in producing big plays in big moments, confident to the point of cockiness.

There's no push from the defensive line, no presence off the edge, McCune banged up his left shoulder against the Bombers and the back end is both capable of making plays or yielding big plays almost from one snap to the next.

"We still got things to tighten up, straighten out, clean up," said Ball. "Penalties, schemes, we don't have time now. We've got to cross every T and dot every I.

"It's going to be very imperative to get back to work, back into the lab, and figure out how we're going to fix this."

Turnarounds happen in the CFL at the drop of a dime if the right moves involving the right pieces are made. Agenda and ego are placed at the door and hard decisions are made.

Unless the Argos are prepared for an old-fashioned shootout where the team having last possession wins, there's no way they can win if this defence does not get its act together.

Discipline gets corrected for a few weeks and then it resurfaces, one of the low points arriving against Winnipeg on a night when the Argos were flagged 14 times for 139 yards.

"Clearly it's not been fixed," said head coach Scott Milanovich on team discipline. "I don't think guys are trying to intentionally break the rules. I just don't believe that.

"Aggressive, running to the ball, we just got to be smarter, keep our head and understand when it's time to lay off."

Toronto Argonauts defence remains a concern

Marcus Ball tends to cut to the chase when dissecting all things Argonauts, someone who doesn't mince his words very often in assessing his team's play on defence.

When a team locks up first in its division and finds itself in that enviable position of evaluating who can use a night off in a game that is virtually meaningless, the big picture becomes more into focus.

Ricky Ray won't play in next Friday's season finale against visiting Montreal, one of many on offence who will rest and not be seen on the playing field until the Nov. 17 East final rolls around.

The way Ray played Thursday night against Winnipeg in leading the Argos to their win, a victory that assured the team of first, there's no reason to worry about points being produced.

The way Swayze Waters is kicking the football, the Argos are in field goal range each time they cross midfield, three points pretty much a sure thing.